• Overview
• Staging information
• Translations
• Sample translations
• Production history

Scene

The play is divided into 15 scenes. These take the form of fragmented incidents taking place during the last night of Max’s life.

• Scenes 1 to 6 all feature Max, along with a host of other characters – most notably Don Latino, the prostitute Enriqueta and the group of Modernist poets. These scenes follow Max’s wanderings – from his attic apartment to Zarathustra’s bookshop, then to the tavern, on to the streets outside the Modernists’ café, and into the police station.
• Scene 7 takes place in the offices of the Popular Paper. It does not feature Max.
• Scenes 8 to 12 depict the further travels of Max and Don Latino through Madrid. The action moves from the offices of Paco the government minister, to the Café Colón, then into the park and on to an upmarket area of the city. Max dies in a doorway in scene 12.
• Scenes 13 to 15 take place in the aftermath of Max’s death. They are set, respectively, in Max’s apartment, the cemetery and the tavern.

Staging

The play takes place in various locations around Madrid. One of the most challenging aspects of the staging is the fact that the action jumps quickly from place to place as outlined in the section on scene information.

Brief location information

Each location in the play is dimly lit, reflecting Max’s blindness and the moral turpitude of the society in which he lives  (Valle-Inclán 1997: xxxii).

• Max Estrella’s family home is an attic apartment, lit only by a small window. The walls are cluttered with pictures and papers.
• Zarathustra’s bookshop is described as a cave. It is piled full of books and the windows are papered in posters. In the ‘cave’ sit a cat, dog and parrot.
• The tavern owned by Verancio is dark, lit by gas lamps. The customers are like shadows, lurking in corners and playing cards.
• The street corners that Don Latino and Max find themselves on are lit by dim street lamps. Soldiers and police on horseback ride by and there are signs of the civil unrest, such as broken glass on the ground and broken windows.
• The police station to which Max is taken is also described as cave-like, with files and shelves, sleepy guards, officials, etc. The cell in the station into which Max is thrown is badly lit by candles.
• The office of the Popular Paper is lit by a greenish light, with a large black meeting table.
• The offices of Paco the government minister are luxurious but decorated tastelessly.
• In scene 9 Max meets Rubén Darío. The café has a piano and other musical instruments, marble tabletops and red sofas. It is covered in mirrors that warp the surroundings, reflecting the distorting effect of the esperpento genre as invented by Max/Valle-Inclán.
• In scene 11 a woman appears, carrying a dead child who has been shot in the head.
• During his wake in scene 13 Max lies in a cheap open coffin. One of the nails of the coffin grazes his temple.

Character Descriptions (a selection)

• Max Estrella is a blind, grey-bearded man with a walking stick. He is described as having curly hair and looking like statues of Hermes, winged messenger to the gods in Greek mythology.
• Madame Collet, Max’s wife, is a Frenchwoman with fair hair.
• Claudinita, Max’s daughter, is shabbily dressed.
• Don Latino is an asthmatic old man wearing a little peaked hat and glasses. He is accompanied by a little dog.
• Zarathustra, the bookseller, looks like a beetle, hunched over wearing a green scarf. He is described as puppet-like.
• Enriqueta, the prostitute, is blind in one eye, dressed as a gypsy.
• The Modernists are a band of both tall, melancholy, thin men and short, jolly, plump characters. They dress like bohemians, with bow ties, long hair and pipes.
• Rubén Darío is described as profound and serious.
• The Marquis of Bradomín has a snowy-white beard and wears a long cloak.

Cast number

Minimum	Maximum
15 males	42 males
6 females	10 females
21 (total)	52 (total)

Characters

• MAX ESTRELLA
• MADAME COLLET
• CLAUDINITA
• DON LATINO DE HISPALIS
• ZARATHUSTRA
• DON GAY
• SHORT-HAIRED MAN
• THE CONCIERGE’S DAUGHTER
• VERANCIO, Tavern owner
• CRISPÍN, Young barman
• ENRIQUETA WELL-TROD, Prostitute
• THE KING OF PORTUGAL, Pimp
• A DRUNK
• CAPTAIN PITITO
• A NIGHT WATCHMAN
• THE VOICE OF A NEIGHBOUR
• TWO POLICEMEN
• SERAFÍN
• A JAILER
• A PRISONER
• PORTER OF THE NEWSPAPER OFFICE
• DON FILIBERTO, Editor
• HIS EXCELLENCY THE MINISTER (PACO)
• DIEGUITO, Secretary to His Excellency
• AN ATTENDANT
• AN OLD PAINTED LADY
• LA LUNARES, Young prostitute
• AN UNKNOWN YOUNG MAN
• THE MOTHER OF THE DEAD CHILD
• THE PAWNBROKER
• A POLICEMAN
• A CONCIERGE
• A BRICKLAYER
• AN OLD WOMAN
• THE RAG LADY
• THE RETIRED OLD MAN
• ANOTHER CONCIERGE
• A NEIGHBOUR
• BASILIO SOULINAKE
• COACHMAN
• TWO GRAVEDIGGERS
• RUBÉN DARÍO
• THE MARQUIS OF BRADOMÍN
• PAY PAY
• NEWSWOMAN
• CROWDS
• POLICE
• DOGS
• CATS
• A PARROT

The Modernists

• DORIO DE GADEX
• RAFAEL DE LOS VÉLEZ
• LUCIO VERO
• MÍNGUEZ
• GÁLVEZ
• CARLINITO
• PÉREZ

Entry written by Gwynneth Dowling. Last updated on 10 October 2010.

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